This invention relates to a vehicle entry system for invalids, particularly but not exclusively to an entry system whereby an occupant of a wheel chair may enter and leave a motor vehicle without however the need to dismount from the wheel chair, and to a wheel chair suitable for use with the entry system.
The problem of motor transport for invalids who need to use wheel chairs has been solved in a number of ways. One solution is a specially designed motor vehicle with a suitable seat and hand controls for the person's use, but in this case it is necessary to leave the wheel chair. For many people, leaving the wheel chair is a very difficult manuever and may require assistance either from one or more other persons or with the aid of mechanical lifts or other apparatus. The transfer to and from the vehicle is difficult and often extremely painful.
A further solution has therefore been proposed namely to adapt the vehicle so that the occupant of the wheel chair may enter and leave the vehicle without the necessity for leaving the wheel chair. Specially adapted vehicles which have been designed for this purpose in the past have the disadvantage that the special adaptation involves major and irreversible alteration of the structure of the standard vehicle. When the vehicle is resold, after its use by a wheel chair occupant is over, the special adaptations may render it unsuitable for use by anyone else and its second-hand value is therefore extremely low.